The Wave Lesson Plan

Why does David's violence toward Laurie feel more significant that other attacks that have occurred because of The Wave?

Begin this discussion by having students summarize what they know about the Jewish boy who was attacked earlier in the novel: although we have the facts, they are delivered secondhand. Nobody we've met seems to actually know the boy, and we never even learn his name.

When David pushes Laurie, however, the reader is affected personally. These are two characters we've watched throughout the novel, and that adds a personal touch that makes the event more upsetting. The reader's line of thinking is similar to David's: when it's someone we know, we are...